The Meaning of Jeremiah 2:12 Explained

Jeremiah 2:12

KJV: Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

YLT: Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder; be amazed very much, saith Jehovah.

ASV: Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Be astonished,  O ye heavens,  at this, and be horribly afraid,  be ye very  desolate,  saith  the LORD. 

What does Jeremiah 2:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh called the heavens as witnesses to Israel"s folly (cf. Deuteronomy 32:1; Isaiah 1:2; Micah 6:1; et al.). These witnesses could only be appalled and shudder at such foolishness and feel desolate over such apostasy.
" Prayer of Manasseh , created by God and for God, cannot live without God. If he forsakes the living God, he passes in spite of himself into the service of dead, unreal gods." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 2

1  God having shown his former kindness,
5  expostulates with the people on their causeless and unexampled revolt
14  They are the causes of their own calamities
18  The sins and idolatries of Judah
35  Her confidence is rejected

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 2:12 mean?

Be astonished heavens at this and be horribly afraid Be desolate very says Yahweh
שֹׁ֥מּוּ שָׁמַ֖יִם עַל־ זֹ֑את וְשַׂעֲר֛וּ חָרְב֥וּ מְאֹ֖ד נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

שֹׁ֥מּוּ  Be  astonished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.
שָׁמַ֖יִם  heavens 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
עַל־  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
זֹ֑את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
וְשַׂעֲר֛וּ  and  be  horribly  afraid 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׂעַר 
Sense: to storm, shiver, dread, bristle (with horror), be very afraid.
חָרְב֥וּ  Be  desolate 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: חָרֵב 
Sense: to be waste, lay waste, make desolate, be desolate, be in ruins.
מְאֹ֖ד  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.